Although the old librarian makes no effort to conceal her annoyance at being interrupted, you’re not going to back down from your pursuit just because you got on her bad side: you insist about what subjects you’d be interested in, as well as your partner Rufflet, to which the woman responds by scoffing with disdain after a prolonged moment of dead silence.

“Look at this one,” she mutters under her breath as she ever-so-slowly rises from her chair, “not even able to name a single book. Sure, make the old woman scour all of the giant bookshelves for something that might catch your eye! No, not that one! Hmm, not that one either, no! But maybe the one all the way up theeere, would you? Humpf, as if she’d even finish any one of them….”

She goes on mumbling, clearly confidant that you can’t hear her, but the woman seems to be deaf as a door and even her supposedly private complaints ring loud and clear across the otherwise noiseless library.
She walks around the desk and finally reveals herself in full – the elder stands up to your waist, has impeccably-cut grizzly hair kept at shoulder-length, black-rimmed glasses and a spotless dark blue librarian uniform complete with a yellow écharpe.
She begrudgingly guides you to the left wing of the library, her pace so slow you are forced to think she’s deliberately trying to bore you into changing your mind. The two of you enter a maze of bookshelves that the librarian seems to have traversed a million times before, showing no trace of hesitation despite her snail-like pace. She finally stops in front of a massive shelf similar to all the others, scans it for a minute and finally points upwards with a tiny hand, all the way to the top row of books, inaccessible to either one of you without some stairs.

“There. Natural History. Enjoy.”

She turns around briskly and prepares to return to her desk, retracing her steps three times as fast as before, you can’t help but notice. However, just as she’s about to bend the corner and vanish back into the maze, she stops abruptly and looks to the side, at the wall of the library itself, where you spot a small door of dark-red wood. The librarian hastily walks over to it, makes sure it’s tightly shut, peers over her shoulder like a vigilant crow and quickly disappears back to her precious documents, her precious mahogany desk and her precious silence.

You look back at where the old woman had pointed: a row of at least fifty different books stand perfectly aligned, of varying covers and titles, among which classics like ”Perfecting Darwin – The Oak Theorem”, ”The Lost Isles of Cascadia”, ”Excelsior – Fact or Fiction?” and ”Cloud Garden Throughout the Eras”.

Well… what now, Miss Schala?

Schala doesn’t expect the woman’s response to her question to be cheerful, but the rudeness surprises her. The librarians back home weren’t always cheery, but they were at least polite to patrons’ faces.

She follows behind the librarian, face burning with embarrassment at what was being said--quite loudly--about her. Apparently wanting to browse a section or two means that she doesn’t read. Angry or not about the assumptions, she doesn’t speak up. Confrontation is not something she enjoys, so the faster this vile woman can lead her to the sections she seeks and leave her alone, the better. She shushes an indignant Ulysses as well. No need for more of a scene than the one the librarian’s rant is making already.

The walk through the maze of bookshelves is torturously slow in a way that Schala expects is on purpose, and then ends abruptly. With a dismissive wave at a section of books at the top of a shelf--Natural History, apparently--the librarian beats a much more hasty retreat. Though Schala notices her brief stop at a door to check if it is closed before she disappears.

The Natural History section is not either of the sections she had asked for, but even if she had been inclined to point it out to the rude woman, she had disappeared far too quickly. Besides, Natural Sciences should be close by. Hopefully.

“Perhaps she misheard me and combined Natural Sciences and Military History?” Schala mutters. But given her attitude, it seems less like an accident and more like another intentional slight.

The section does have some things Schala would be interested in reading, but the height of the bookcases acts as a rather strong deterrent on that front. Schala was too busy being shocked at the old woman’s attitude to keep an eye out for anything to use to reach the tops of shelves, but Ulysses does have wings. While she would normally not allow him to fly in order to keep the library quiet as a courtesy, she is feeling quite a bit less charitable right now.

Nudging the Rufflet, who is busy glaring at the place where the librarian disappeared, she asks “Could you fly up to the top of the shelf and see if you can spot any nearby step ladders? Or one of the sections we were actually looking for? Just be careful not to knock any books over.”

While Ulysses heads to do some reconnaissance, Schala can’t help but glance at the door the librarian had stopped at. It was a bit suspicious, and a peek wouldn’t hurt, right? Just to assuage her curiosity. She wanders over to the door, keeping an eye out for any rude librarians lurking nearby (just in case), and tries the door knob.

((Profile, Memakyu is in the first post, under "Wishlist Post", but here's a link to that as well.))

TheKnightsFury: Though pleased overall with the start of the battle, you can't help but worry about the strange behavior of these Durant. From what you could remember of their kind, their iron mandibles posed much more of a threat than you'd experienced, almost as if they had been purposefully sharpened. What's more, this fixation on the tracks went against everything you knew of wild Pokémon and Durant in particular. You wonder if they are some attempt at sabotage for the railyard, or else under orders of some kind, but you can’t ponder for long as the battle continues.

As you ruffle through your bag, the speedy ants make their move. The two at the tracks continue to ignore the fight, each using their sharp, Metal Claw-like mandibles to make mincemeat of the rails, tossing bits towards the growing pile seemingly at random. Of the two attacking, the one flat on its back struggles in his blinded and burnt state to right itself, eventually succeeding with a surprising feat of Agility. The other chitters angrily - clearly enraged - and Hustles towards Jim's Swinub, mandibles pinching disturbingly like a Guillotine. Luckily, like its compatriot earlier, the Durant moves harmlessly past the bleeding Swinub, missing completely. Huffing with pained laughter, the Swinub exhales an icy breath, coating the attacking ant in a Powdery Snow.

By this point, you have found the Pokeball you seek, tossing it out as you drop the open bag to the ground. Once the flash of light clears, Odysseus floats in the air, blankly beeping as it analyzes the battlefield. Acknowledging your orders, the Magnemite's twin magnets begin spinning rapidly, filling the air with a harsh Metallic Sound that immediately distracts the quartet of Durant. Your own partners - aware in advance - filter out the noise.

Taking the opening provided, Boudicca rears back on her hindlegs before swinging her forelegs down in a swift move. Cracks spider-web out from her hooves towards the Durant who just righted itself, the Earth underneath erupting in a Powerful blast that knocks the ant away. At the same time, Logi and Atalanta prep another of their potent Heat Wave-Ominous Wind combo. As the wave of hot wind slams into the ants, you see that - though the damage done is still great - with Logi's weakening constitution it isn't as much as you'd hoped. There is a bright side, though, as burn marks spread across the torso of one of the working Durants. Even better, as she propels her ominous wind into the heat wave, a faint glow envelops Atalanta, strengthening her power.

If they weren't mad before, following this last wave, the Durant are downright infuriated. The two working on the tracks finally abandon their positions, together charging at Logi and Atalanta. The one on the left aims a Bite towards the Darumaka, while the rightmost Durant Furiously Cuts at the owl, who can't quite take off in time. The remaining two continue their streaks of bad luck, each Hustling right by Jim's Swinub and Boudicca, their respective Guillotines missing. Mildly amused by this point, both Pokémon repeat their earlier Powder Snow and Earth Power, respectively. Swinub's opponent, though coated in a layer of frost, is still barely holding on. Boudicca's opponent, however, flies backward in the small eruption, slumping to the ground in a dead faint. Ever the analytical being, Odysseus waits to move last, emitting a strange Supersonic tone that confuses the remaining Durant.

"Yeah, that's it Gerrold," Jim praises by your side, "keep it up with a couple more Powder Snows!"

With one Durant fainted and another nearly there, the battle seems to be in your favor. Of course, though one is burned and both are confused, the other two Durant only look a little roughed up. Additionally, Logi and Atalanta both took a bad hit, though Boudicca still hasn't been touched and Odysseus - new to the fight - is in perfect health.

The move is yours, what would you like to do?

(Declared 4/6: Rowlet, Mudbray, Darumaka, Magnemite)

While one Durant was now dealt with and another looking close to its breaking point, Jayson was beginning to feel like they were on top of this situation. The main issue was that Logi was now spent and two of the Durant were proving persistent, still tearing up the tracks relentlessly. This was going to be an issue, if a train came flying down the track than there was no way they would be able to stop it in time, the damage would be devastating. They had to finish this now, before more damage could be done to the tracks and his Pokemon.

"Alright team, Odysseus has exposed their special defense so now we exploit it! Boudicca I need you to finish off that Durant while the rest of us target the pair damaging the tracks. Give it two Earthpowers and hope that is enough to put it down." They were out of firepower now, Logi was spent but perhaps there was another way. "Odysseus, Mimic Logi's Heat Wave then hit the pair of Durants with a Heat Wave. Atalanta while Odysseus is preparing keep the Durant's pinned down with a pair of Air Cutters. If they are still hanging on try and finish them with an Ominous Wind." Jayson hoped that it would be enough with the boost Atalanta had received from the Ominous Wind, but only time would tell. They needed to get this fight over with so they could find out the motive. The actions of the Durant seemed to purposeful, there had to be something else at work here. If his hunch was right than they would likely be at further risk, they needed to get up to speed if they stood a chance of foiling any sinister plot.

deoxys:
The elder listens as he smiles, relieved that you intend to see this through to the end, knowing that he cannot do so by himself. Still, you can tell he feels conflicted, entirely aware that this is his problem and not yours. He is, however, unaware of your backstory, including that you are also familiar with the God of the Distortion World.

“As I said, upon his… resurrection… my old companion became a servant of Giratina. But not just any servant,” he says with a heavy voice. “The Phantom Dragon revived him as a warmongering spirit, the cornerstone of a revolution against the other Gods. This, too, he made sure I knew in my visions. Allow me to share it with you – the gruesome sight of what my old friend became.”

Dagon steps forward and places two fingers on your forehead. Immediately you are once more assaulted by visions, the ones the elder sees each time he sits on the rails – thoroughly different from yours, the path you saw is never disclosed to Dagon. Instead, he is forced to see images of his past self and his Incineroar, the feline’s death and the same weird building you described. Finally, the last image is that of the reborn Incineroar, given new form and new purpose by Giratina.

“This is Krohm, Champion of Distortion World. All traces of my former companion erased, he now exists as gatherer and commander of souls for Giratina’s army,” Dagon reveals. “I am yet to fully understand the reasons why the Phantom Dragon would gather an army to begin with, but I fear an invasion of the Human World is imminent. Krohm, I assume, is to play a central role in this endeavour. The black and red train we just saw was his own, carrying stray souls to the underground palace-like structure you saw in your vision. I strongly believe that is the heart of Krohm and GIratina’s growing army… but the path to Krohm’s Palace was never disclosed to me. That… is why I need you.”

Dagon traverses the rails, beckoning you to follow, until you reach a bifurcation on the tracks.

“Something wickedly powerful fuels Krohm’s core. As I said, as long as he lives, so will why, trapped in this realm, watching the trains of Distortion World pass as they carry more souls to do the Phantom Dragon’s bidding. Alone, I am powerless to either stop him or break my own curse. But perhaps with you by my side… if you’re still willing…”

He pulls out a wrinkled piece of paper from the confines of his dirty rags and hands it over to you. Written on it are symbols you cannot translate.

“Though its properties in this Realm are hampered, that Cleanse Tag is not without its uses. It may not outright repeal the dwellers of this dimension, but I found it renders them somewhat less aggressive towards outsiders such as us. It should, at least, give us time to prepare if we run into trouble. Please, hold on to it,” Dagon requests.

The elder looks at the diverging rail tracks, pondering on the next step. One of the railways leads directly toward New Fizz City, an ominous realization should Giratina’s Champion finish raising his army. The other, bathed in moonlight, leads northwest towards nowhere in particular, into by the dry wilderness of the surrounding wastelands.

“Which way do we go?”

morningstar:

It doesn’t take a wealth of knowledge and experience to realize you’re outmatched, and that perhaps bringing the fight to the Snivy was a premature decision. Fortunately you change your mind before making too much noise and prepare to recall your partners for now.

Still, you can’t help but notice this encounter, as well as the previous successful break-in, have strengthened your collective bond – despite his exhaustion, it’s obvious that Monte’s punches are growing stronger by the minute, no doubt that climb and this short battle having helped in that regard.

Monte has gained 2 Levels!

You aim the Pokéball at the worn-out Scraggy and successfully recall him into the device; to this, Snivy reacts with a sigh of relief, before actually positioning itself so that recalling the trapped Éclair is an easier task for you – instead of trying to make your life harder, it’s as if the Grass-Type wants you to stop fighting.

You aim the beam at your Mawile, who continues to struggle against the vines. Her movement is relentless, shaking violently to try and break free from her predicament. You can’t help but feel her resolve has also grown stronger, between climbing into the warehouse all on her own and the face-off with Snivy that you didn’t get to witness from the start…

Éclair has gained 1 Level!

You finally manage to call your friend back into her Ball, after which Snivy retracts its vines and walks over to you with a careful, but not openly hostile, expression. It stops directly in front of you, and courteously extends a vine as if asking for a handshake. All the while, it keeps peering over to the ground floor, several feet below the metal walkway you stand on, as if trying to spot movement…
Upon closer examination, now that it has drawn nearer, you notice a tiny golden plastic badge attached to Grass-Type’s scales, with the inscription “Port Guard” written on it.

Can this Pokémon be trusted? How will you approach the situation?

Schala:
You have the distinct impression that the old librarian is most definitely not in a cooperating mood: either due to early-onset dementia or simply ill will, she ended up directing you at the wrong section - an amalgam of your two requests, and as a result, none of what you requested.

It is hard to adhere to a code when the ones enforcing it are just asking to be disobeyed. Case in point, even though you are fully aware that silence must be preserved within the confines of the library, the lack of other actual people besides the gorgon at the desk makes it all the more enticing to just take matter into your own hands (and Rufflet's wings), rules be damned. Instructed to search for a step ladder or, luck permitting, one of the sections you actually wanted to find, Ulysses takes to the air, ready to fulfill these tasks, the sound of his wingflaps resonating across the library's halls. The avian disappears behind the tall bookshelf, leaving you temporarily alone. As for you, something else has drawn your attention - the door that had so suspiciously merited the harpy's concern.

You approach the entrance in question, carefully scanning the perimeter as you walk closer, for the fear of being detected. The librarian, however, is nowhere in sight, likely having returned to her papers. The door itself is as ancient-looking as the rest of the building; dark red in tone, resembling mahogany but not quite the same, it is one solid chunk of carefully polished wood. The keyhole, and likely the entire lock sysem, is also archaic, and although the door is tightly shut at the moment, it seems like any amount of lockpicking skill or brute force could get it open if you were willing to take the risk.

It doesn’t take a wealth of knowledge and experience to realize you’re outmatched, and that perhaps bringing the fight to the Snivy was a premature decision. Fortunately you change your mind before making too much noise and prepare to recall your partners for now.

Still, you can’t help but notice this encounter, as well as the previous successful break-in, have strengthened your collective bond – despite his exhaustion, it’s obvious that Monte’s punches are growing stronger by the minute, no doubt that climb and this short battle having helped in that regard.

Monte has gained 2 Levels!

You aim the Pokéball at the worn-out Scraggy and successfully recall him into the device; to this, Snivy reacts with a sigh of relief, before actually positioning itself so that recalling the trapped Éclair is an easier task for you – instead of trying to make your life harder, it’s as if the Grass-Type wants you to stop fighting.

You aim the beam at your Mawile, who continues to struggle against the vines. Her movement is relentless, shaking violently to try and break free from her predicament. You can’t help but feel her resolve has also grown stronger, between climbing into the warehouse all on her own and the face-off with Snivy that you didn’t get to witness from the start…

Éclair has gained 1 Level!

You finally manage to call your friend back into her Ball, after which Snivy retracts its vines and walks over to you with a careful, but not openly hostile, expression. It stops directly in front of you, and courteously extends a vine as if asking for a handshake. All the while, it keeps peering over to the ground floor, several feet below the metal walkway you stand on, as if trying to spot movement…
Upon closer examination, now that it has drawn nearer, you notice a tiny golden plastic badge attached to Grass-Type’s scales, with the inscription “Port Guard” written on it.

Can this Pokémon be trusted? How will you approach the situation?

So much for an exciting Pokemon battle for Monte. Athena wondered if her Scraggy was ashamed as she recalled him back to his Pokeball. She comforted herself with the fact that he must have gained some kind of experience from this situation. To her relief, the beam from Eclair's Pokeball was able to reach her. She held the red and white balls in her hand, shrinking them to their more convenient size. Monte's Pokeball was returned to her backpack, but she kept out Eclair's just in case. Looking at the Snivy again, it seemed much less mean than she had thought. Still, she was wary as the Grass-type approached her. Pokemon had some moral code to not attack defenseless trainers, right?

"Oh!" Athena recoiled her hand as the Snivy reached a vine towards it. She had the horrible thought of being wrapped up like Eclair had, the vines slowly squeezing the life out of her. The Snivy's vine remained where it was, and Athena was sure it looked a little offended. Precariously, she reached her pointer finger and thumb to lightly grasp Snivy's vine and give it a light shake.

"Pleased to...meet you?" She assumed this was the way the Snivy hoped to be greeted. Though the fact that it wasn't making much eye contact made her unsure. She followed its gaze to the factory floor below, but it was too dark for her untrained eye. Athena looked over the Snivy, admiring the smug-but-cute look on its face and its stubby little arms and legs. The cutest thing, though, was the tiny badge worn proudly on its chest. "So you work here? That's so cute! I mean...respectable?" She fumbled with the Pokeball in her hand.

"I'm sorry for intruding. We've been mistaken for the bad guys again I guess. Since you seem to know whats going on here, can we help you out? We're not too strong yet but... I promise we can help." Athena hoped she hadn't made too much of a fool of herself. The Snivy was capable of handling a newbie trainer and her Pokemon, but it was still alone, its coworkers probably among the hostages.

It was easy to see how the Snivy would mistake you for "the bad guys", you think at first, but perhaps that wasn't quite it. Were that the case, it would've fought back with much more vigor than it had - you vividly recall it simply dodging Monte's attacks, rather than riposting. On second thought, it seemed the Snivy was more interested in keeping you quiet - hence why it restrained Éclair and even encouraged you to recall your tiny warriors.

It would make sense; the Snivy seemed to have been caught in the web of the criminal who'd made all those hostages. At first, it could be assumed it worked at the factory itself, but the badge said "Port Guard". It is then that you recall what Captain Trent Gatt had told you: "the guard stationed here at Bullarum caught them breaking in. They made the man hostage, along with the workers of that canned Finneon factory."

This could well be the Snivy belonging to that brave lone guard that had first crossed paths with the Pokémon trafficker, the very first hostage. It would make sense that the Grass-Type would want to save its master, as well as the other twenty hostages, likely having been raised to handle just this kind of high-stress situations. It would explain its higher level, too, and why you weren't able to land a hit.

Snivy looks at you, relieved you seem to be on its side after all, then dutifully proceeds to request your assistance. Like a miniature spec-ops soldier, it goes on to explain the layout of the situation like a pro would (if only it didn't look so adorably squishy at the same time, it could pass off as a serious badass, you think). It summons a whirl of leaves, as silently as it can, and lets them drop on the metal walkway floor, covering it. Then, using its vines, it begins to push some of the leaves away, effectively drawing a makeshift map of the factory!

You can see the stairs leading down to the ground floor, as well as a number of rooms. At the far end of the floor, near the front door, is an amalgam of leaves that likely represent the hostages, as well as the criminal busy bringing the fight to Gatt's men on the outside. On some of the rooms, as well as the corridors, a lone red leaf likely represent "guards" left behind by the criminal in case someone attempts to sneak up on him - six in total, exactly the number of Pokémon a Trainer can carry at once.

If you understand Snivy's plan, the intention is to make way along the ground floor, from back to front, neutralizing these guards as you go along until you reach the criminal... but even Snivy’s knowledge of the plant is rudimentary, and there is no telling what each room is for, or what kind of enemy lurks inside.
It seems risky, especially since you don't know what you're up against. In case you decide to go all the way with this, you should prepare in advance... what will you do?

deoxys:
The elder listens as he smiles, relieved that you intend to see this through to the end, knowing that he cannot do so by himself. Still, you can tell he feels conflicted, entirely aware that this is his problem and not yours. He is, however, unaware of your backstory, including that you are also familiar with the God of the Distortion World.

“As I said, upon his… resurrection… my old companion became a servant of Giratina. But not just any servant,” he says with a heavy voice. “The Phantom Dragon revived him as a warmongering spirit, the cornerstone of a revolution against the other Gods. This, too, he made sure I knew in my visions. Allow me to share it with you – the gruesome sight of what my old friend became.”

Dagon steps forward and places two fingers on your forehead. Immediately you are once more assaulted by visions, the ones the elder sees each time he sits on the rails – thoroughly different from yours, the path you saw is never disclosed to Dagon. Instead, he is forced to see images of his past self and his Incineroar, the feline’s death and the same weird building you described. Finally, the last image is that of the reborn Incineroar, given new form and new purpose by Giratina.

“This is Krohm, Champion of Distortion World. All traces of my former companion erased, he now exists as gatherer and commander of souls for Giratina’s army,” Dagon reveals. “I am yet to fully understand the reasons why the Phantom Dragon would gather an army to begin with, but I fear an invasion of the Human World is imminent. Krohm, I assume, is to play a central role in this endeavour. The black and red train we just saw was his own, carrying stray souls to the underground palace-like structure you saw in your vision. I strongly believe that is the heart of Krohm and GIratina’s growing army… but the path to Krohm’s Palace was never disclosed to me. That… is why I need you.”

Dagon traverses the rails, beckoning you to follow, until you reach a bifurcation on the tracks.

“Something wickedly powerful fuels Krohm’s core. As I said, as long as he lives, so will why, trapped in this realm, watching the trains of Distortion World pass as they carry more souls to do the Phantom Dragon’s bidding. Alone, I am powerless to either stop him or break my own curse. But perhaps with you by my side… if you’re still willing…”

He pulls out a wrinkled piece of paper from the confines of his dirty rags and hands it over to you. Written on it are symbols you cannot translate.

“Though its properties in this Realm are hampered, that Cleanse Tag is not without its uses. It may not outright repeal the dwellers of this dimension, but I found it renders them somewhat less aggressive towards outsiders such as us. It should, at least, give us time to prepare if we run into trouble. Please, hold on to it,” Dagon requests.

The elder looks at the diverging rail tracks, pondering on the next step. One of the railways leads directly toward New Fizz City, an ominous realization should Giratina’s Champion finish raising his army. The other, bathed in moonlight, leads northwest towards nowhere in particular, into by the dry wilderness of the surrounding wastelands.

“Which way do we go?”

As Hiero followed Dagon, he knew that he needed to be prepared for anything. Even if the world appeared familiar, the realm they were in was no longer the natural one - rather, it was a dark one - a haunted, sinister world that he was now an unwelcome guest in. After receiving the Cleanse Tag from the elder, the trainer reached into his pack and revealed a Vampire Ball in his grasp. As they stood at the fork in the tracks, he sighed - there was no turning back now. This was the kind of test Hiero had been preparing for, and Hiero had the advantage of being attuned to this realm.

He tapped the latch on the Vampire Ball, and with a sparkling light, his red Duskull revealed himself. The Ghost-type was somewhat shy, but always tried to play itself off as cool, quiet, and thoughtful. He seemed to thrive in the moonlight, his wisps fluttering eagerly - or perhaps it was the realm itself. "Dagon, this is my partner Momonga. Momon, this is Dagon. I'll spare you the details, but as I'm sure you're already aware, we're not in our 'normal' realm anymore..." The Duskull looked at his trainer and gently nodded, folding his arms behind his back. "I don't know what we can expect here, but I want to prepare for anything. You're going to need a power boost," Hiero said, revealing a handful of Rare Candies from his backpack. "If you absorb these, your strength will increase - and given our predicament, I think that would be for the best, as long as you agree."

The Duskull looked at Dagon for a moment with his glowing eye, and then back to his trainer. He floated forward and extended his arm outward over the candies. His body glowed red for a moment, and then he pulled his arm back, revealing the candies had disappeared entirely. "Interesting," the trainer thought to himself. Momonga didn't appear any different, but Hiero knew that the Pokemon's power had most assuredly increased.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" He took the Cleanse Tag in his other hand and held it out toward the Duskull. "Do you think you're up to the job?"

The Duskull nodded again. "Usku...." He reached out to his trainer's hand and retrieved the Cleanse Tag. It would hopefully be able to repel any sinister forces that may otherwise try to approach the group - not using this may otherwise spell doom for them all.

Dagon runs a hand through his beard, and smiles faintly upon witnessing your choice of partner.

“I see… A rather special one, that is for certain. Much like yourself.”

Understanding the seemingly insurmountable odds of the task ahead, you decide now is the right time to strengthen Momonga; fortunately, you have the tools to do just that, and once the crimson phantom is done consuming the mysterious candies, a surge of power emanates from it, signalling the method was effective. You are in enemy territory, a strange dimension that mirrors your own – it can be assumed danger will surface at any moment.

Vividly recalling the many images you saw upon the train’s “collision”, the correct path is clear to you: the railway that runs away from New Fizz, upon which the moon casts its glow. The sky, you notice, retains that unsettling purple tint, and the air feels oddly stale, but apart from these two facts, there is little else to differentiate Giratina’s realm from the “real” one, at least so far. And so, the journey begins.

You walk along the railway with determination, leading the way, with Dagon following close behind, effortlessly keeping up with your pace despite his advanced age. Momonga floats in between, taking in the eerie atmosphere that makes your ghost companion feel strangely… at home. The three of you travel in complete silence for quite a while, each lost in his own thoughts – as for you, the spiralling visions, the black and red train and the colossal Krohm, as shown to you by Dagon, are images you can’t seem to forget even if you tried – and neither are the myriad questions swirling around in your mind. How far gone is the old Incineroar, now hellish Golurk? What is the source of power fuelling it, the one Dagon mentioned? What will you do once you finally meet Krohm face to face?...

The sound of another train in the distance causes all of you to stop and look behind. Whatever locomotive is approaching, it still seems to be quite a distance away.

“Krohm’s black and red engine isn’t the only one that travels these rails,” Dagon explains. “In fact, it’s rare for it to do so right after sunset; it usually falls on the lesser troops to stake out the perimeter of the human city. That is probably one of them approaching; we still have time, but it would be wise to stay out of their sight.”

Suddenly, you are assaulted by an intense migraine, like a thousand nails digging into your skull and bringing tears to your eyes; mercifully, it goes as quickly as it came. Dagon also seems troubled, but his tolerance to the pain is probably on another level, given how long he’s been in this world. However, his usually expressionless face twists in a look of great concern.

“A distortion… Move!!”

Alas, it is too late. In the blink of an eye, the train in the distance is gone - and just as fast, it suddenly rematerializes on the rails… directly in front of you! Much like before, the proximity and speed leave you no time to react other than instinctively brace for impact… which, also like before, does not come.

But this time, neither do any visions. When you reopen your eyes, you see the train vanish into dust, blown away and scattered like a cloud of pollen, and after a powerful burst of light, it is replaced by three creatures floating above the ground. Each of them resembles an ancient longsword, with a golden pommel and a single, sapphire-like blue eye; the tip of each blade is dangerously close to your neck, Dagon’s, and Momonga’s red orb respectively, and if any of you makes even the slightest unauthorized movement, the results will likely be catastrophic.

“I… I am afraid this is a misunderstanding,” says Dagon in his characteristically calm voice, demonstrating impressive fortitude in the face of adversity. “You see, we are simply outsiders trapped in this realm, not souls of the departed!”

The closest to you, as you come to understand, was the one to speak. It seems to be the leader of the group; slowly, it advances toward you, until the impossibly-sharp edge gently touches your throat. It then pushes forward a single millimetre, pressing the tip against your skin and piercing it ever-so-slightly, enough to bring a single droplet of blood trickling down your neck.

Your ability to get lost on foreign territory is quite possibly unparalleled. Though, in your defense, New Fizz and its outskirts are far from easy to move around. Somehow, after crossing the railyard and wondering for no small amount of time, you wind up in a sprawling, if lifeless-looking, industrial complex not unlike the ones in Unova: this is Bullarum, the industrial heart of New Fizz City. Factories are scattered everywhere, each with its own specialty production, as are a number of storage-purpose warehouses of varying sizes. More importantly, everything looks... empty.

Perhaps that is for the best, however. You've been walking for quite a long time now, it is getting dark and the atmosphere of the place is making you strangely uneasy. You decide the best course of action is to take shelter inside one of the nearby buildings, and resume your way towards the City per se whenn you're rested up and the sun is shining once more. With that in mind, you enter the very first warehouse whose door isn't locked shut, a relatively small gray building, merely one-story-high, in dire need of a paint job. The entrance door requires only a slight push to swing open with a screeching noise.

Once you step inside, you immediately notice a considerable drop in temperature, which is unfortunate for one seeking shelter from the cold of the night. The room itself is small, and more intrestingly, thoroughly and completely empty. A warehouse that houses nothing?...

The lack of anything worth inspecting makes it easy for you to decide the next step - the only thing remotely meriting attention is a moldy wooden door on the far wall of the cubicle, once painted white but its color mostly corroded by age and humidity. It takes but the gentlest of nudges to open it, much like the front door had; beyond it is a staircase leading downwards - underground, effectively - with ice-cold mist growing in intensity the further down the steps go.

It falls on you to decide whether you're properly equipped to handle the environment in the depths of the warehouse, or if you'd prefer to turn back and seek shelter elsewhere - knowing that the night ahead is going to be long, and dark, and with a variable amount of terrors.

Seiko grasped at her sides, the drop in temperature getting the better of her. The chill was the very opposite of consoling; it served only to exacerbate her looming sense of dread. She turned away from the rotted door, displacing air to force the portal further ajar. A loud creak barreled forth, surprising the guarded woman enough to send her back a few haphazard paces.

Goodness gracious, this was not Seiko's idea of a night on the town! Town? Not exactly. At any rate, I'd sooner spend the night alone in a chilly warehouse than risk a run-in with whatever stalks the urban wilds.

Seiko bit at the tip of her thumb in an attempt to stay her nerves. "Easy there, Seiko old girl... a little cold never hurt anybody. No need to get worked up, it's not like you're encroaching on anyone's space. This warehouse is empty. Emp-ty."

She stood erect and closed her eyes a moment. "Yes sir, quiet as a Dedenne," she breathed, directing a hand to the pouch at her waist. She dug around some before producing a twin-tone orb. "But just in case... Bartsch, I choose you!"

A white light materialized and dissipated with the young woman's words, leaving in its wake a drowsy Girafarig. Her posterior head yawned seconds later, confirming that the Long Neck Pokemon had indeed been disturbed from slumber.

"Sorry about this girl," Seiko gently pat Bartsch along the broad of her neck. "But I need to know we're safe before I can settle down for the night. Scout the area here and by the landing of the stairs with your Odor Sleuth. Let me know if you pick up on anything unusual straightaways."

As it turns out, even in its sleepy state, your Girafarig proves to be a very welcome company in the dead-silent, drop-dead cold warehouse you've just stumbled into.

The Psychic-Type yawns before looking around the place with relative disinterest. You can't really blame it - there really isn't much of anything to see - after all, the place is most definitely emp-ty.

Visibly reluctant to sniff around when there's nothing to actually sniff, Bartsch complies nonetheless. It lowers its main head to the ground and attempts to pick up any lingering scents, visibly convinced it will detect nothing... until its eyes widen in astonishment - it seems to have caught something after all!
Slowly but surely, Bartch circles the lifeless room, before heading for the staircase leading downwards into the freezing mist. It makes its way down, intrigued by whatever it is that it detected, oblivious to the steady drop in temperature... until the smell becomes so intense to its heightened sense that the Girafarig stops and briskly turns around, clearly nauseated. What could have brought about such a sudden change in behaviour?

Curious to see for yourself, you decide to follow Bartsch down the stairs. At the bottom is another door, this one made of heavy iron, but it is actually half open; from behind it, a cold haze emanates that makes you shiver even more than you already were. And while your sense of smell is nowhere near as developed as your Girafarig's, you can also identify a faint odor coming from the room beyond...

Slowly, cautiously, you apply as much force as necessary to further open the iron door justa bit more, so you can peer inside. The hinges screech, much to your dismay; if you'd been relatively stealthy up until this point, the ruckus caused by the rusty hinges has just compromised it all...

Fortunately, nothing seems to happen. This place really is empty, it would seem... With your mind at ease, you finally take a peek inside the room with the strange smell, and soon everything becomes apparent. Dozens upon dozens of Miltank and Tauros carcasses hang from massive meat hooks, row after row of bovine Pokémon corpses kept inside what seems to be a giant cooler room!

The sight and the scent, now more intense than before, make you feel nauseous much like Bartsch had. No wonder the upper floor is empty - this is actually an underground meat storage warehouse! But why would the doors be unlocked if nobody's around to...

*click*

An almost imperceptible sound in the distance catches your attention and immediately you tense up. It can only be one thing - someone has just opened the warehouse front door upstairs, and you can now hear what sounds like multiple simultaneous footsteps growing progressively louder... You're not alone anymore!

It was easy to see how the Snivy would mistake you for "the bad guys", you think at first, but perhaps that wasn't quite it. Were that the case, it would've fought back with much more vigor than it had - you vividly recall it simply dodging Monte's attacks, rather than riposting. On second thought, it seemed the Snivy was more interested in keeping you quiet - hence why it restrained Éclair and even encouraged you to recall your tiny warriors.

It would make sense; the Snivy seemed to have been caught in the web of the criminal who'd made all those hostages. At first, it could be assumed it worked at the factory itself, but the badge said "Port Guard". It is then that you recall what Captain Trent Gatt had told you: "the guard stationed here at Bullarum caught them breaking in. They made the man hostage, along with the workers of that canned Finneon factory."

This could well be the Snivy belonging to that brave lone guard that had first crossed paths with the Pokémon trafficker, the very first hostage. It would make sense that the Grass-Type would want to save its master, as well as the other twenty hostages, likely having been raised to handle just this kind of high-stress situations. It would explain its higher level, too, and why you weren't able to land a hit.

Snivy looks at you, relieved you seem to be on its side after all, then dutifully proceeds to request your assistance. Like a miniature spec-ops soldier, it goes on to explain the layout of the situation like a pro would (if only it didn't look so adorably squishy at the same time, it could pass off as a serious badass, you think). It summons a whirl of leaves, as silently as it can, and lets them drop on the metal walkway floor, covering it. Then, using its vines, it begins to push some of the leaves away, effectively drawing a makeshift map of the factory!

You can see the stairs leading down to the ground floor, as well as a number of rooms. At the far end of the floor, near the front door, is an amalgam of leaves that likely represent the hostages, as well as the criminal busy bringing the fight to Gatt's men on the outside. On some of the rooms, as well as the corridors, a lone red leaf likely represent "guards" left behind by the criminal in case someone attempts to sneak up on him - six in total, exactly the number of Pokémon a Trainer can carry at once.

If you understand Snivy's plan, the intention is to make way along the ground floor, from back to front, neutralizing these guards as you go along until you reach the criminal... but even Snivy’s knowledge of the plant is rudimentary, and there is no telling what each room is for, or what kind of enemy lurks inside.
It seems risky, especially since you don't know what you're up against. In case you decide to go all the way with this, you should prepare in advance... what will you do?

The more she interacted with the Grass Snake, the more Athena understood its intentions. Though she would have rather it kept its vines away from strangling Eclair, the determined look on its face told her that they were in a very serious situation. It was definitely skilled, definitely much more so than herself and her Pokemon.

She took a step back as the Pokemon called forth a whirlwind of leaves. As the leaves settled on the ground, it begin to work hard at crafting something. Athena watched silently, fighting the urge to take a video on her phone. Snivy let her look when it finished, presenting a what seemed to be a map of factory, along with red leaves marking potential opponents. Athena traced over the map with a finger, careful to not to move any of the leaves from their positions.

"I think...I get it?" She whispered to the Pokemon. During slow times at Laverre Cafe, she enjoyed working on the occasional puzzle game, and this seemed somewhat similar. Though she couldn't be sure what this path held, her Pokemon and this Snivy could probably take down each 'guard' on their way. She counted 6 guards, was it really necessary to take all of them out? At the same time, she didn't want to be ambushed from behind by anyone they neglected to go after. Though Snivy had a bit more information than she did, they were both mostly in the dark. It seemed best here to just go for it, and adapt to whatever was thrown at them.

Careful to not make too much noise with the zipper, Athena retrieved a Pokeball from her backpack. She pressed the center button, and held it out to reveal a quadrupedal Pokemon in a flash of light. The Stufful materialized on the ground, and Athena knelt down next to her.

"Mille should be quiet with these feet," Athena told Snivy, picking up one of Mille's legs to show him how plush she was. Mille yanked her limb back and huffed, not in the mood to be shown off by her trainer. "I can be quiet too." She removed her shoes, leaving her only in socks decorated with pictures of cat Pokemon like Litten and Meowth. She stood, and motioned to Snivy that she was ready to go and take on the first guard.

At Athena's new choice of partner, Snivy smiled faintly. That smile only widened further when the human revealed her rather humorous socks, a clothing accessory Snivy couldn't understand the very concept of, but undeniably appreciated.

Like a pair of rookie spies on their first day of spy school, you and Mille mirror Snivy's every movement, like it was your instructor. You keep low, move slowly, and gently place one foot (or paw, where applicable) in front of the other so as to make as little noise as possible. Down the metal stairs to the left you go, Snivy taking the lead, until you finally reach the ground level of the Finne-Can factory.

Immediately you find yourselves in a corridor - wide and spatious enough to move around if need be, but oppressingly straightforward, lined by tall steel walls on each side and poorly illuminated by the occasional fluorescent lamp flickering precariously. The only way to go is forward, until the corridor turns 90 degrees to the right. Snivy clings to the wall and peers over to see what lies beyond before taking the turn, then urges you to do the same.

Cautiously, you take a peek around the bend as well, as does Mille - your head, the Stufful's and the Snivy's looking like a comical little tower of sneaky scouts to anyone who happened to turn around at that moment. Fortunately, nobody does.
What you can spot a little farther away, down an equally boring, unremarkable corridor as the one you came from, is a round gray creature with two arms and no legs, floating in mid-air with the occasional spark escaping from its bulky frame. You quickly identify the foe as being a Geodude endemic to the region of Alola, and it is no doubt the first guard depicted in Snivy's map.

For now, you have time to assess the situation and outline your plan. The corridor will allow for some unrestricted movement should battle be unavoidable, and you have the element of surprise. However, within the confined space of iron walls and nearby rooms, being excessively loud can prove dangerous, although probably no one will pay attention to some bumps and thumps inside a fully-functioning factory.

Fishing Cove: At the junction between the harbor and beach lies a small out of the way cove. The locals and visitors alike swear that this might just be the holy grail of fishing sites, leading to its name: Fishing Cove. If you want a calm area to just fish and relax, this is the place for you. And don’t forget to record your catches! The fish hut nestled back in the cove is always giving out prizes for the biggest or best catch of the day.

Melody had decided to come to New Fizz City initially to go and do some shopping, retail therapy as it was. But while she was buying a very nice, and insanely sparkly, diamante embedded evening gown Melody heard about the Fishing Cove. At first she had just filtered it into the back of her mind, but over her shopping trip the name kept popping back into the forefront of her thoughts. It was almost a little eerie just how she ended up really wanting to go, and you know what? Melody would be more than happy to fish herself up a new teammate.

And that was the end of that story. After making sure that her purchases were very nice and safe, Melody did end up spending more money that she probably should have and didn't wanna let any of that ended up getting damaged, she let out Princess and Silk, and off she went.

"Let's go guys," said Melody, very lightly jogging in front of her pokemon, the Stufful and Spinarak closely following.

kawaiiconcept: As torn as you are at Erin's disappearance, something seems to click together for you. Turning to Annalise, you exclaim that you know where Parker might have gone, if of course they weren't in the van you hope Newt will track. Surprised at your sudden outburst, a look of tentative hope enters Annalise's eyes, along with a stronger look of confusion. "Really?" she asks. "Where could you think she'd be?"

With your Pokémon, Frieghya takes full advantage of this lull to slump to the ground, centering her mind and taking a short rest to regain some energy. Time will tell if she's successful. At the same moment, Cassie comes out of her Poke ball. Brought down onto her forelegs by the poison rippling through her veins, Cassie feels a warmth spread through her body. As a pale line of a shooting star arcs across the sky, she sees a vision of her love approach her. Soothe her. Reassure her of her own inner strength. A phantom tongue nudges her nose and a wave of otherworldly feeling washes over Cassie. Despite her poison, she feels herself gain a second wind, her superficial injuries numbing to nothing. Still, even the power of a Wish can't outright cure poison, just delay its effects.

Inspired by the words of her mate, Cassie refocuses, sniffing through the air in another attempt to catch Parker's scent. She trudges forward, away from the group, but for a long moment all she can smell is the mingled mess of scents from the impromptu battle. She starts to pick up a hint of what she remembers as Parker's scent, but following it leads right back to where she was earlier; she picked up the same scent trail as before.

What will you do?

(Declared 4/6: Espeon, Aron, Herdier, Woobat)

Kawaii pondered her situation for a moment before replying, "well the trail goes dead here so I think she might be in that van. I sent my Woobat after it." The pinkette stretched her arms and pet her poor poisoned Herdier before tapping her on the nose with her pokeball, calling the normal-type back.
Frieghya took the lull in the action to center herself. She focused her psychic energy for anyone or anything needing help. She prodded at the energies of those around her. She could sense the energy of a Woobat, which made her heart skip a beat. Unfortunately she recognized the signature of her teammate and her heart sunk. The Espeon had thought for maybe a moment it was that nice Woobat that had come by her base that one time. She shook her head lightly to clear it, she was letting her emotions getting in the way. The psychic type refocused her efforts on finding that Zorua.
Before he teleported away Arin was quite proud of himself, he had out done his own standards and fought this battle without retaining much damage. The little Aron was quite proud of himself. He hadn’t battled much but he knew that a move like harden was not very well respected among pokemon or trainers. Yet in this case it had worked quite well. The steel type was happy that his first battle had gone well. He was glad to finally be getting some attention as well, he had lain dormant for a long time and didn’t know that he could contribute his freedom to the great reform of fizzytopia. His thoughts were interupted by the Abra teleporting him away.

__________________
FIZZY BUBBLES INFO IS NOW ON UPNHERE
Thanks to my best friend Missingno Master for the banner
óÓÒò furry, witch, and pansexual.
IM SORRY MY RPS ARE SO SHORT
For my baby :
"And we all say,
Oh well I never
was there ever
A cat so clever
As magical Mr. Mistofolese"
R.I.P. buddy, I miss you.

At Athena's new choice of partner, Snivy smiled faintly. That smile only widened further when the human revealed her rather humorous socks, a clothing accessory Snivy couldn't understand the very concept of, but undeniably appreciated.

Like a pair of rookie spies on their first day of spy school, you and Mille mirror Snivy's every movement, like it was your instructor. You keep low, move slowly, and gently place one foot (or paw, where applicable) in front of the other so as to make as little noise as possible. Down the metal stairs to the left you go, Snivy taking the lead, until you finally reach the ground level of the Finne-Can factory.

Immediately you find yourselves in a corridor - wide and spatious enough to move around if need be, but oppressingly straightforward, lined by tall steel walls on each side and poorly illuminated by the occasional fluorescent lamp flickering precariously. The only way to go is forward, until the corridor turns 90 degrees to the right. Snivy clings to the wall and peers over to see what lies beyond before taking the turn, then urges you to do the same.

Cautiously, you take a peek around the bend as well, as does Mille - your head, the Stufful's and the Snivy's looking like a comical little tower of sneaky scouts to anyone who happened to turn around at that moment. Fortunately, nobody does.
What you can spot a little farther away, down an equally boring, unremarkable corridor as the one you came from, is a round gray creature with two arms and no legs, floating in mid-air with the occasional spark escaping from its bulky frame. You quickly identify the foe as being a Geodude endemic to the region of Alola, and it is no doubt the first guard depicted in Snivy's map.

For now, you have time to assess the situation and outline your plan. The corridor will allow for some unrestricted movement should battle be unavoidable, and you have the element of surprise. However, within the confined space of iron walls and nearby rooms, being excessively loud can prove dangerous, although probably no one will pay attention to some bumps and thumps inside a fully-functioning factory.

With all this in mind, what will you do now?

Athena's excitement resurfaced as she followed the Snivy down the corridors of the cannery. She felt like she was in some kind of police drama, even though she was currently working against the interests of the officers outside. Mille watched Snivy carefully, still unsure why they were following this unfamiliar Pokemon. At the same time, the Stufful admired the way the Grass Pokemon carried itself. Each move was careful, calculated, and smooth.

As the group rounded a corner, Athena and Mille followed Snivy's lead and took a look at what lay on the other side. The trainer's heartbeat spiked as she saw the Pokemon floating further down the hallway. Athena moved away from the corner and took a seat against the wall to think. Mille joined her and Athena waved Snivy's attention over. Though the black, iron sand that created the appearance of hair on the Pokemon meant that this Geodude was not only Rock type, but Electric, she didn't feel they were at any kind of disadvantage. Athena reviewed type matchups in her head, then looked to Snivy with a smile. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. How well would sound carry in this small hallway? Instead, she made a wiggling gesture with her arms to indicate Vines, then laced her fingers together tightly. To end the silent explanation, she Whipped her hands apart rather violently. Hoping Snivy would understand, she gave it a thumbs up. She then made a walking motion with both of her hands, with one hand following close behind the other. To Mille, she mouthed the words "Help" and pointed to Mille's eyes, making a Leer with her own brown ones. With a grin, she held up an OK with her pointer finger and thumb, then pointed around the corner. After this extensive game of charades, she only hoped the Pokemon she was with would understand. In her position, she could only watch from a safe spot around the corner as a battle potentially started.

Dagon runs a hand through his beard, and smiles faintly upon witnessing your choice of partner.

“I see… A rather special one, that is for certain. Much like yourself.”

Understanding the seemingly insurmountable odds of the task ahead, you decide now is the right time to strengthen Momonga; fortunately, you have the tools to do just that, and once the crimson phantom is done consuming the mysterious candies, a surge of power emanates from it, signalling the method was effective. You are in enemy territory, a strange dimension that mirrors your own – it can be assumed danger will surface at any moment.

Vividly recalling the many images you saw upon the train’s “collision”, the correct path is clear to you: the railway that runs away from New Fizz, upon which the moon casts its glow. The sky, you notice, retains that unsettling purple tint, and the air feels oddly stale, but apart from these two facts, there is little else to differentiate Giratina’s realm from the “real” one, at least so far. And so, the journey begins.

You walk along the railway with determination, leading the way, with Dagon following close behind, effortlessly keeping up with your pace despite his advanced age. Momonga floats in between, taking in the eerie atmosphere that makes your ghost companion feel strangely… at home. The three of you travel in complete silence for quite a while, each lost in his own thoughts – as for you, the spiralling visions, the black and red train and the colossal Krohm, as shown to you by Dagon, are images you can’t seem to forget even if you tried – and neither are the myriad questions swirling around in your mind. How far gone is the old Incineroar, now hellish Golurk? What is the source of power fuelling it, the one Dagon mentioned? What will you do once you finally meet Krohm face to face?...

The sound of another train in the distance causes all of you to stop and look behind. Whatever locomotive is approaching, it still seems to be quite a distance away.

“Krohm’s black and red engine isn’t the only one that travels these rails,” Dagon explains. “In fact, it’s rare for it to do so right after sunset; it usually falls on the lesser troops to stake out the perimeter of the human city. That is probably one of them approaching; we still have time, but it would be wise to stay out of their sight.”

Suddenly, you are assaulted by an intense migraine, like a thousand nails digging into your skull and bringing tears to your eyes; mercifully, it goes as quickly as it came. Dagon also seems troubled, but his tolerance to the pain is probably on another level, given how long he’s been in this world. However, his usually expressionless face twists in a look of great concern.

“A distortion… Move!!”

Alas, it is too late. In the blink of an eye, the train in the distance is gone - and just as fast, it suddenly rematerializes on the rails… directly in front of you! Much like before, the proximity and speed leave you no time to react other than instinctively brace for impact… which, also like before, does not come.

But this time, neither do any visions. When you reopen your eyes, you see the train vanish into dust, blown away and scattered like a cloud of pollen, and after a powerful burst of light, it is replaced by three creatures floating above the ground. Each of them resembles an ancient longsword, with a golden pommel and a single, sapphire-like blue eye; the tip of each blade is dangerously close to your neck, Dagon’s, and Momonga’s red orb respectively, and if any of you makes even the slightest unauthorized movement, the results will likely be catastrophic.

“I… I am afraid this is a misunderstanding,” says Dagon in his characteristically calm voice, demonstrating impressive fortitude in the face of adversity. “You see, we are simply outsiders trapped in this realm, not souls of the departed!”

The closest to you, as you come to understand, was the one to speak. It seems to be the leader of the group; slowly, it advances toward you, until the impossibly-sharp edge gently touches your throat. It then pushes forward a single millimetre, pressing the tip against your skin and piercing it ever-so-slightly, enough to bring a single droplet of blood trickling down your neck.

State your business.

Hiero stood still, sharp pinching pain radiating from his neck. Following Dagon's lead, he wore a poker face, opting to not reveal any emotion to the Honedge or its partners. "And what 'business', Honedge, would we have to state?" Hiero asked, somewhat rebelliously. He was playing dumb, which was probably the best option. However, playing too dumb would be risky - taking a tone of annoyance or disdain for authority might, perhaps, be the better option.

And then, he had an idea. Hiero looked out of the corner of his eye toward his Duskull. He tilted his head slightly in annoyance of the situation, though in reality he was giving the all-clear to his Duskull. If he played his cards right, he might be able to distract the other two Honedge as well, hopefully giving Momon the window of opportunity to covertly catch their captors off guard with Confuse Ray. Best case scenario, Hiero thought, is this ended with the Honedge fighting each other. If not, then as long as part one of this plan worked, he would have Momon drop a Dark Pulse and initiate a battle. He decided to double down.

"You think I want to be here? I don't get a choice. None of us do. We're imprisoned in this domain with no way out, unless, I don't know, you want to tear open a portal or something and set us free?"

He started to get angry, hoping Momon was taking advantage of the situation. Hiero grabbed the blade of the Honedge and tightened his grip around it, immediately drawing blood from his palm. He pulled the Honedge's hilt closer to him. "Do you have any idea what this is like? I am in Hell. Every day. So if that answer isn't good enough for you, and you want to kill me, then do it right now and end this suffering. It would be far more merciful than letting me continue to live in the the agony I go through every fucking day of my life!"

It is decidedly strange to issue commands to someone else’s Pokémon. You can’t help but wonder how you compare to Snivy’s Trainer, the guard-made-hostage, but fortunately the Grass-Type seems to understand your instructions just fine, grinning and nodding in agreement with your plan. Mille, too, seems to easily grasp the situation, and displays no issues with playing second-fiddle to Snivy. Despite she herself being no slouch physically, she understands her role for now is to provide support while Snivy handles the offense.

The duo turns the corner, ready to confront the first foe in the journey to confront the criminal holding the factory’s employees hostage. The Alolan Geodude is quick to spot the incoming foes, who make little effort to stay concealed, instead bent on bringing the fight directly to the Rock-Type. Mille takes the front, growling and Leering ominously at the enemy, striking fear in its heart of stone. So entranced is it by the Stufful’s glare that it fails to react in time once Snivy leaps from behind the bear and forcefully strikes Geodude with two vines, delivering impressive damage and sending the living boulder tumbling and rolling across the floor!

Peeking from around the bend, you see the Geodude in the distance beginning to rise back up, rubbing its rock hands on its body to reduce the pain of the blow. It isn’t until it keeps doing it for longer than you expected that you realize it’s not rubbing the pain away… it’s using Rock Polish! The foe grins, then lunges forward at incredible speed and strikes Mille with its electricity-covered body with a blindingly-fast Spark! This time it’s Mille who is sent flying backwards, and lands only a few feet away from you, writhing in pain on the floor…

Geodude slams its fists together, raring to go with its increased speed, despite the considerable damage it has already taken. Mille is also in bad shape, but Snivy is still perfectly healthy. What will you do next?

deoxys:

You put on the most convincing act you can, going so far as to further injure yourself on Honedge’s blade for added effect. And it seems to do the trick – the living swords holding Dagon and Momon hostage lower their blades slightly, taken aback by your sudden display of utter desperation, and that is precisely the opening your red Duskull was looking for.

Clever.

The single word, metallic in nature and bone-chilling in tone, causes your heart to skip a beat. Has the Honedge in front of you seen through your plan?! You glance at Dagon and Momon, neither of them reacting to the spoken word - that one was for your ears alone. And yet, the Sword Pokémon does not move, allowing your Duskull to go through with the plan unopposed…

Momon fires an iridescent beam at the Duskull closest to it, finding its mark and immediately sending the sword into a blind swinging frenzy. Meanwhile, the Honedge near Dagon quickly reacts to the charade, attempting to slash away at the elder who leaps backward just in time, the blade only grazing his right shoulder. Immediately afterwards, Honedge is struck by a violent blast of darkness from Momon, but recovers in time to retaliate with an Aerial Ace on the crimson ghost. And quickly, the situation devolved into a chaotic brawl, Momon and the sane Honedge clashing against one another while occasionally having to dodge the confused third element’s wild swings. Meanwhile, the Honedge who drew your blood looks on, impassive.

Your world… is it worth going back to? Worth this silly game of yours?

Again the Honedge speaks only to you, its voice ringing in the back of your head. It sounds distant, as if the all the commotion you just caused could be ended with barely any effort on its part. But at the same time, its apparent interest in your reality seems strong enough that it doesn’t just put an end to this battle on the spot…

It is decidedly strange to issue commands to someone else’s Pokémon. You can’t help but wonder how you compare to Snivy’s Trainer, the guard-made-hostage, but fortunately the Grass-Type seems to understand your instructions just fine, grinning and nodding in agreement with your plan. Mille, too, seems to easily grasp the situation, and displays no issues with playing second-fiddle to Snivy. Despite she herself being no slouch physically, she understands her role for now is to provide support while Snivy handles the offense.

The duo turns the corner, ready to confront the first foe in the journey to confront the criminal holding the factory’s employees hostage. The Alolan Geodude is quick to spot the incoming foes, who make little effort to stay concealed, instead bent on bringing the fight directly to the Rock-Type. Mille takes the front, growling and Leering ominously at the enemy, striking fear in its heart of stone. So entranced is it by the Stufful’s glare that it fails to react in time once Snivy leaps from behind the bear and forcefully strikes Geodude with two vines, delivering impressive damage and sending the living boulder tumbling and rolling across the floor!

Peeking from around the bend, you see the Geodude in the distance beginning to rise back up, rubbing its rock hands on its body to reduce the pain of the blow. It isn’t until it keeps doing it for longer than you expected that you realize it’s not rubbing the pain away… it’s using Rock Polish! The foe grins, then lunges forward at incredible speed and strikes Mille with its electricity-covered body with a blindingly-fast Spark! This time it’s Mille who is sent flying backwards, and lands only a few feet away from you, writhing in pain on the floor…

Geodude slams its fists together, raring to go with its increased speed, despite the considerable damage it has already taken. Mille is also in bad shape, but Snivy is still perfectly healthy. What will you do next?

The trainer watched with bated breath as her Pokemon and temporary companion executed their plan. She silently celebrated as Snivy's move hit. They both looked so cool! Celebration turned to quite literal shock as Mille was thrown back in her direction. The Alolan Geodude must have realized that the Stufful was the much weaker opponent. Athena looked on in horror as electricity ran through Mille's body, making her twitch in pain. She reached out to her small Pokemon, getting shocked herself as she made contact with her.

"You're ok Mille-y..." Athena slowly moved from cover and stroked the Stufful in comfort. She helped her to her feet and dusted her off. The two of them looked toward Snivy and Geodude and Athena thought of what their options might be. Though her Pokemon was hurt, they still outnumbered the hovering rock.

"Snivy!" She whispered loud enough for the snake Pokemon to hear. She didn't know its entire moveset, but she had seen some of what it could do. She made a whirling motion with her finger in the air, imitating the movement of leaves it had shown her earlier. She hoped this was enough to take the Geodude out, but still felt unsure. Athena looked Mille in her squishy little face. Her and the Stufful hadn't known each other long, but Mille had seemed excited to join her team when she hatched. Athena didn't feel like there was much yet to her as a trainer, but Mille obviously saw something in her. That must mean there was some level of trust between them. She smiled softly at her Pokemon, and tried to look as determined as possible. "Get in there with a Tackle if you need to. I believe in you!"

You have the advantage in numbers, but – ironically though as it may be – Geodude now has the edge in terms of speed. While you help Mille regain her bearings, the hovering rock turns its attention to Snivy, clearly the more dangerous of the two assailants, and like a bolt of lightning, rams into it with another Spark while the Grass-Type is busy looking over to the fallen Stufful to assess her injuries. Fortunately, the snake is naturally resistant to electricity, but the blunt force of the energy-charged tackle still pushes it back a few feet down the corridor, closer to where you and Mille are standing.

It does, however, have its advantages. Now within ear shot, Snivy hears your whispered call just fine, and grins upon seeing your gestures – it seems to agree wholeheartedly with your plan.
Just as the duo prepares to retaliate, Geodude rushes over once more with its heightened speed, charging down the hallway like a stone bullet for another Spark. This time around, however, Snivy is prepared – its body tenses up, and it bides its time, a serpent ready to strike… and just as Geodude is about to strike, a powerful Leaf Tornado bursts from below, trapping it and pelting away at its rock body repeatedly!
Spotting her opening, Mille realizes it’s her turn to do you proud, and lunges forward with everything she has, Tackling the trapped opponent with such force that, this time, it’s Geodude who is sent flying backwards and rolling helplessly along the corridor! When it finally stops, you realize the enemy isn’t getting back up any time soon… Geodude has been knocked out!

*Mille has gained 2 Levels!*

With the first enemy defeated, and without causing too much commotion, Snivy breathes a sigh of relief and nods at you approvingly, like a superior officer commanding a rookie soldier on a job well done. The three of you move along the corridor, carefully passing over the passed-out Geodude, and proceed further down the only available path until another choice presents itself: you can keep going straight ahead, or take a left turn to a new corridor, at the far end of which seems to be a closed metal door. But before you make your choice, something else catches your eye: right at the intersection is a small vending machine of sorts, and it seems to be working!

You approach the machine to see what it has on sale. The first thing you notice, however, is that the prices seem to be a little outrageous – talk about ripping off employees. The items available are few and about to run out, the lack of restocking no doubt related to the current hostage situation in the facility. Other than a few sweets, most of the stuff on sale seems designed to be used within the factory itself, which raises serious questions about why the administration would charge employees for their own working tools… Of what little is left, you identify two Mysterious Gummis sold for $500 apiece, five Yummi Gummis sold for $200 each, a single copy of TM Cut costing $600, one TM False Swipe available for the same price, one TM Water Gun for $800 and a lone TM Scald for $1500. You reason these moves would help with preparing and cooking the Finneon before it is canned, and that the only reason workers would be charged for them would be if they forgot to bring their own Pokémon to work… talk about shady business practices.

Whether you decide to purchase anything, you will still have to choose which way you go based on the improvised map Snivy drew for you earlier. Will you keep going straight ahead until the end of the corridor, or take the left turn midway?

-------

PikaGod:

And you thought the shopping avenues were crowded… as it turns out, there’s well over two dozen people lining up by the Fishing Hut for some reason, pushing and shoving and being all around not polite at all in their struggle to get to the shack before everyone else. What’s the reason for all this commotion?

You begin to reassess your priorities given the current scenario – this was supposed to be a nice, relaxing place, at least it was advertised as such. This looks anything but, and perhaps you should go back to what you were doing…

“H-hey lady, wait up!”

The male voice rises above the crowd’s, coming from the Hut up ahead. You turn back around to see the clerk, a middle-aged man with a poorly-kept beard and a silly, unfashionable gray hat lined with fish-hooks as ornaments, waving at you from behind the counter.

“Let ‘er pass yill ya? She’s an old acquaintance o’ mine,” he says, placing you in the rather awkward position of having no idea what he’s talking about but clearly seeing the benefits of pretending that you do. “Come on, get o’er here already, ‘s been ages!”

You try your best to look casual as you pass ahead of the entire queue, which obviously does not spare you countless angry glares and muttered insults along the way. You finally reach the small Fishing Hut and the clerk holds out his hand cheerily.

“How long’s it bee, ay?” he says loudly, before dramatically lowering his voice almost down to an imperceptible whisper. “You’s Melody Star, ain’t ya?! I’m a huge fan o’ yours miss Melody! Even when ya had to leave on account o’t that shocking incident – might shocked myself, I was! But I’m a fan for life, no matter what, lemme tell ya!”

He suddenly vanishes behind the counter and pops back out with a brochure. When he speaks again, his voice is a single notch below full-blown shouting once again.

“So ya see, like I was tellin’ you the other day,” he practically yells while he points at the brochure, “we’s holdin’ a fishin’ competition for the next three days. Free admission ‘n all, which explains the crowd… So here’s what you gotta do.”

He opens the slip of paper and you notice that there are two different kinds of challenge happening simultaneously.

“We supply fresh fish to many o’ them fancy joints in New Fizz; restaurants pay damn well for what we pull outta the sea,” the clerk says with a glimmer of greed in his eyes. “One o’ the competitions happens on the south part o’ the cove; ya take a tiny boat ‘n a tiny net ‘n y’see how much fish ya can drag out in a single back-n-forth trip. One who comes back with the biggest haul wins.”

He points at the other half of the brochure and continues.

“We also take pride in bein’ the best damn fishin’ spot for ‘em young Trainers lookin’ to score a proper beast of a fish. The second competition uses a Fishin’ Rod rather than a net; ya get handed three pieces o’ bait, and try pullin’ out the meanest catch ya can. Heaviest sunavagun wins, so that pretty golden Karp ain’t trumpin’ a proper massive orange one – takes pure luck ta pull a rare one, but skill ta reel a big’un in!”

You notice he has specifically left out the part about prizes, despite these being competitions and all. Clearly he’s eager for you to join, perhaps due to the expectation that a former pop starlet will draw more customers in…
Will you join any of the competitions? If so, which one?

Heather: Looking around at the interior of this visitor's center, you can't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. You were looking for excitement and adventure, and, well. This is not exactly that. Still, as an idea flickers to life in your mind, you're hopeful to get some enjoyment out of this visit even if not by... the most lawful of means. To enact the first part of this cunning plan, you make your way across the open room and around the large gathering of people towards this educational area.

The first thing you spy upon reaching your destination is the large model of the plant compound you spied earlier. You see laid out on the table a semicircle of craggy, mountain terrain, inside of which rests the multiple buildings of the plant. Just as you had with the full-scale version, you approach the table from the south, putting the miniature visitor's center right in front of you. At the small building's side, you see a label showing that this building serves not one but three purposes, housing the administration center of the plant as well as primary research facilities. Looking outward over the model, you see that the large building overshadowing everything is the main generator building. The method of generation isn't immediately clear to you, but you do see little figures of Electabuzz and Electrode outside the building model. Past that, you see two much smaller structures, labeled as a switch facility and step-up transmission respectively. The latter, you also see, has tiny little power cables extending towards miniatures of the pylons you saw when approaching the plant. Finally, further back you see a multitude of small buildings, more similar in size to the visitor's center than the main building, all labeled auxiliary facilities with various subtitles showing what they specialized in. A few were extra generator buildings, but others proclaimed secondary research spaces. Beyond these buildings up to the start of the cliffside, the space is empty, simply labeled 'future projects & expansions.'

Turning around, you're about to look at any exhibits along the walls, when an overly cheerful voice rings out over an intercom. "Attention please, anyone still interested in taking the facilities tour, please come sign up at the front desk! There's only a few spots left!"

Well, that's serendipitous. What would you like to do?

(Declared: Emolga, Alola Vulpix)

Heather pored over the diorama of the plant intently, taking a distinct interest in the functions of the buildings and their surroundings, mostly in a bid to find out "where would there most likely be wild Pokemon hanging about?" One thing caught her eye in particular, though.

"Oooooh, a research facility? I might be making a few business-related return trips..." Heather muttered to herself. In truth, she was looking into making a start of a career in Electric-Type research. While the research they did here was probably not directly relevant, the types of species such facilities attracted would definitely be a good topic of study. Why, for example, would the area around the Kanto Power Plant-okay no, she was getting off track. She was here to look for Pokemon, and have a good time, but mostly the former, when it came down to it. Even if she was rather likely to end up with an Electrode or something given the diorama, she could certainly hope for something more interesting. Speaking of how to accomplish that, a voice came over the intercom, instructing anyone who wanted to go on the facilities tour to sign up at the front desk. Heather immediately went to the front desk to look for a sign up sheet. The only way this day could yield anything was if she went deeper, after all, and so deeper she would go. Of course, she did want to know a certain something before making the commitment. When she reached the front desk, she got the attention of the person in charge of tour signups.

"Excuse me? I was wondering something about the tour. I'm hoping to get into Electric-Type research, see, so I wanted to know if there would be any opportunities to find wild Electric-Types for capture while on the tour-my first goal is to obtain and study as many Electric-Type species as possible, you see. Or, if not, do you know any place I might go instead around the city?" she asked politely, if a little nervously, given she felt that the answer was probably no.

You have the advantage in numbers, but – ironically though as it may be – Geodude now has the edge in terms of speed. While you help Mille regain her bearings, the hovering rock turns its attention to Snivy, clearly the more dangerous of the two assailants, and like a bolt of lightning, rams into it with another Spark while the Grass-Type is busy looking over to the fallen Stufful to assess her injuries. Fortunately, the snake is naturally resistant to electricity, but the blunt force of the energy-charged tackle still pushes it back a few feet down the corridor, closer to where you and Mille are standing.

It does, however, have its advantages. Now within ear shot, Snivy hears your whispered call just fine, and grins upon seeing your gestures – it seems to agree wholeheartedly with your plan.
Just as the duo prepares to retaliate, Geodude rushes over once more with its heightened speed, charging down the hallway like a stone bullet for another Spark. This time around, however, Snivy is prepared – its body tenses up, and it bides its time, a serpent ready to strike… and just as Geodude is about to strike, a powerful Leaf Tornado bursts from below, trapping it and pelting away at its rock body repeatedly!
Spotting her opening, Mille realizes it’s her turn to do you proud, and lunges forward with everything she has, Tackling the trapped opponent with such force that, this time, it’s Geodude who is sent flying backwards and rolling helplessly along the corridor! When it finally stops, you realize the enemy isn’t getting back up any time soon… Geodude has been knocked out!

*Mille has gained 2 Levels!*

With the first enemy defeated, and without causing too much commotion, Snivy breathes a sigh of relief and nods at you approvingly, like a superior officer commanding a rookie soldier on a job well done. The three of you move along the corridor, carefully passing over the passed-out Geodude, and proceed further down the only available path until another choice presents itself: you can keep going straight ahead, or take a left turn to a new corridor, at the far end of which seems to be a closed metal door. But before you make your choice, something else catches your eye: right at the intersection is a small vending machine of sorts, and it seems to be working!

You approach the machine to see what it has on sale. The first thing you notice, however, is that the prices seem to be a little outrageous – talk about ripping off employees. The items available are few and about to run out, the lack of restocking no doubt related to the current hostage situation in the facility. Other than a few sweets, most of the stuff on sale seems designed to be used within the factory itself, which raises serious questions about why the administration would charge employees for their own working tools… Of what little is left, you identify two Mysterious Gummis sold for $500 apiece, five Yummi Gummis sold for $200 each, a single copy of TM Cut costing $600, one TM False Swipe available for the same price, one TM Water Gun for $800 and a lone TM Scald for $1500. You reason these moves would help with preparing and cooking the Finneon before it is canned, and that the only reason workers would be charged for them would be if they forgot to bring their own Pokémon to work… talk about shady business practices.

Whether you decide to purchase anything, you will still have to choose which way you go based on the improvised map Snivy drew for you earlier. Will you keep going straight ahead until the end of the corridor, or take the left turn midway?

Moving from her cover, Athena made a beeline for her Stufful. She scooped her up and gave her a tight hug.

"Mille~~y! You did such a good job!" She praised, thankfully remembering to keep her voice down. Mille soon decided she had enough, and flailed her way out of her trainer's arms. She gently hopped to the ground and acknowledged her battle partner with a nod. Athena shot a thumbs up at Snivy, not sure if it would appreciate a hug from someone it had just met. The three of them eye the Geodude as they pass it, and Mille prodded at it with a paw to make sure it was actually out.

Athena noticed a low, mechanical hum coming from a machine further down the corridor. Mille and Snivy would probably enjoy a refreshing drink, and she could use a Lemonade herself. Upon closer inspection, the vending machine held much different items than she expected. She looked at Snivy sheepishly, hoping it wouldn't mind that she wanted to take advantage of the items presented to her. She retrieved her wallet from her backpack and shuffled through it to pull out the correct amount. TMs were useful, and she had saved quite a lot before starting on her journey. She could afford to splurge a bit and have these moves at her disposal if needed. Inserting $2700 poke, she selected the TMs False Swipe, Scald, and Cut. Embarrassed, she avoided eye contact with Snivy while she waited for the machine to complete the transaction. Hopefully this would be quick, and they could continue straight down the remainder of the corridor.

Schala:
You have the distinct impression that the old librarian is most definitely not in a cooperating mood: either due to early-onset dementia or simply ill will, she ended up directing you at the wrong section - an amalgam of your two requests, and as a result, none of what you requested.

It is hard to adhere to a code when the ones enforcing it are just asking to be disobeyed. Case in point, even though you are fully aware that silence must be preserved within the confines of the library, the lack of other actual people besides the gorgon at the desk makes it all the more enticing to just take matter into your own hands (and Rufflet's wings), rules be damned. Instructed to search for a step ladder or, luck permitting, one of the sections you actually wanted to find, Ulysses takes to the air, ready to fulfill these tasks, the sound of his wingflaps resonating across the library's halls. The avian disappears behind the tall bookshelf, leaving you temporarily alone. As for you, something else has drawn your attention - the door that had so suspiciously merited the harpy's concern.

You approach the entrance in question, carefully scanning the perimeter as you walk closer, for the fear of being detected. The librarian, however, is nowhere in sight, likely having returned to her papers. The door itself is as ancient-looking as the rest of the building; dark red in tone, resembling mahogany but not quite the same, it is one solid chunk of carefully polished wood. The keyhole, and likely the entire lock sysem, is also archaic, and although the door is tightly shut at the moment, it seems like any amount of lockpicking skill or brute force could get it open if you were willing to take the risk.

The question is... are you?

Ulysses’ flight echos through the library, and a small part of the young trainer winces at the noise. However, no angry librarian pops out from behind a bookshelf to reprimand her for shattering the silence. The lack of other patrons means the noise likely isn’t disturbing anyone, anyway.

Left to her own devices, Schala tries the mysterious door. It is locked. Of course it is. She berates herself. Why wouldn’t it be, if that terrible woman is so concerned about it staying closed?

It poses a conundrum, however. While Schala could talk herself into causing a bit of noise or opening an unlocked door lacking ‘keep out’ signs, it was a bit different to actually force the lock and damage the door to satisfy her curiosity.

She glances behind her, paranoid that she’d come face to face with the angry librarian for daring to even consider breaking the lock on the door. A part of her was also hoping for Ulysses to return with news of a ladder or the books they were looking for, to make her decision for her.

Is there a way for me to satisfy my curiosity without breaking and entering? She wonders, A way to get through the door without damaging it or the lock?

Lockpicking is something that she has never encountered outside of books, so that was not a feasible option. But another option strikes her.

She glances at a Pokeball at her belt, hesitantly. The Pokemon inside isn’t one she enjoyed dealing with, but he would certainly be useful for her idea.

It’s worth a shot. Better than damaging the door, I guess. Schala grips the Pokeball tightly. What am I even doing? There’s probably nothing interesting in there, and I could get in so much trouble!

Wavering between her curiosity and the possible consequences, she releases the Pokemon inside before her common sense drives her from the door.

A chill spreads through her body as the ghostly form of a Gastly appeared. He floats in front of her face, staring silently with a blank expression.

Shivering slightly from the sudden cold--and from his unnerving gaze--she addresses him quickly, while she still has the nerve.

“Erebos. Could you check what’s behind this door? And maybe unlock it from the other side if you can?” She isn’t sure if the old lock can be unlocked from the other side, but at least this way, she’d have some idea of what was behind the door. And a possible way to get it open without resorting to property damage.

I’m already regretting this! She thinks, feeling a bit nauseous while she waits for one or both of her Pokemon to report back. Why couldn’t I just look at books and stay out of trouble?

So, apologies especially to TKF and kawaii for taking so goddamned long to get these up. Though meatspace has and still is dominating my time lately, that's no excuse for not trying harder to post at least something for the two of you weeks ago and for that I'm very sorry.

Here on out I plan to consistently update on weekends, which should hopefully be a working compromise between my commitments irl and those I've made here.

While one Durant was now dealt with and another looking close to its breaking point, Jayson was beginning to feel like they were on top of this situation. The main issue was that Logi was now spent and two of the Durant were proving persistent, still tearing up the tracks relentlessly. This was going to be an issue, if a train came flying down the track than there was no way they would be able to stop it in time, the damage would be devastating. They had to finish this now, before more damage could be done to the tracks and his Pokemon.

"Alright team, Odysseus has exposed their special defense so now we exploit it! Boudicca I need you to finish off that Durant while the rest of us target the pair damaging the tracks. Give it two Earthpowers and hope that is enough to put it down." They were out of firepower now, Logi was spent but perhaps there was another way. "Odysseus, Mimic Logi's Heat Wave then hit the pair of Durants with a Heat Wave. Atalanta while Odysseus is preparing keep the Durant's pinned down with a pair of Air Cutters. If they are still hanging on try and finish them with an Ominous Wind." Jayson hoped that it would be enough with the boost Atalanta had received from the Ominous Wind, but only time would tell. They needed to get this fight over with so they could find out the motive. The actions of the Durant seemed to purposeful, there had to be something else at work here. If his hunch was right than they would likely be at further risk, they needed to get up to speed if they stood a chance of foiling any sinister plot.

TheKnightsFury: Happy at how the battle has gone thus far but determined to finish things before a true catastrophe can occur, you issue your strategy to your team. Luckily for you, the Durant act perfectly for your plan; between their lingering confusion and general indecisiveness about whether to attack or flee, the ants stay stationary, chittering with a slight edge of panic in their tone. Gerrold the Swinub, with an expression of glee, takes the opportunity to exhale a deep breath of Powder Snow at the Durant who'd spent so much time tormenting him. The icy blast knocks the ant backwards, clipping the tracks to flip up in the air and land in a heap near his fallen comrade. Though still conscious, the Durant doesn't even try to stand. Time will tell if it can. Focused as well on this ant, Boudicca starts to ready an Earth Power, but hesitates, remembering the damage it did to the earth the previous time. This close to the tracks, that just might not be the best idea.

At the same time, Odysseus stares intently at Logi, analyzing the small Fire-type. A moment later, it begins rotating its magnets, slow at first but quicker each passing instance. The air around you faintly increases in temperature as Odysseus successfully Mimics the effects if not execution of Logi's Heat Wave. Weak as the first try is, however, none of the Durant are really harmed though it does makes them uncomfortably hot. What does harm them, though, is the blade of rapid Air Cutting down from Atalanta's position. With their metal armor, the attack isn't as effective as you could hope, but it definitely succeeds in one thing: making up the Durants' minds. Together, the two former saboteurs take one last look at their immobile comrades before bolting to their scrap pile, grapping as much iron as they can while fleeing. Chased by another Air Cutter, a blast of Powder Snow, and a crackling line of Earth Power, the two ants race away from your team, diving down a small hole you failed to notice when you first arrived on scene. Unsure if they should pursue or not, your team idles, awaiting orders while keeping an eye on the two abandoned Durant.

"Dammit," Jim mutters at your side. "Those bastards got away with most of the metal." Ignoring the remaining ants - as little threats they are - he runs over to inspect the mauled section of track. You follow, seeing the damage for yourself. Though nothing near what it could have been, as you approach you can see at least four long stretches and a couple smaller ones in the track where the metal is gone, gnawed or cut away in a mix of clean swipes and jagged tears. The pile of slightly rusty metal that used to be these sections is considerably smaller, enough taken that you'd need some new metal to repair all the breaks.

As you inspect this pile, Jim sidles up alongside you, crouching down and shifting the pile around to see what might be reusable. Based on his grimace, there not as much as he'd hoped. After a pause he stands, sighing as he runs a hand through his short, shaggy hair. "Yeah, damn, we're going to have to get whole new track here to fix this." Shaking his head, he sighs again, looking down at the pile before side-eying you. With an oddly knowing expression, he bends down once more, taking a few of the smaller pieces out of the pile and sliding them towards you. "Here, take these. I don't really have anything to give you, but these bits aren't worth recasting and you definitely earned something. This," he says motioning vaguely to the track or what's left of it, "might not be exactly good, but it's so much better than it could've been if we hadn't caught it when we did." At your feet lie two roughly Ball shaped pieces of Iron and enough smaller, amorphous chunks to fetch maybe $400 if you pawned them, yours to take if you choose.

Kawaii pondered her situation for a moment before replying, "well the trail goes dead here so I think she might be in that van. I sent my Woobat after it." The pinkette stretched her arms and pet her poor poisoned Herdier before tapping her on the nose with her pokeball, calling the normal-type back.
Frieghya took the lull in the action to center herself. She focused her psychic energy for anyone or anything needing help. She prodded at the energies of those around her. She could sense the energy of a Woobat, which made her heart skip a beat. Unfortunately she recognized the signature of her teammate and her heart sunk. The Espeon had thought for maybe a moment it was that nice Woobat that had come by her base that one time. She shook her head lightly to clear it, she was letting her emotions getting in the way. The psychic type refocused her efforts on finding that Zorua.
Before he teleported away Arin was quite proud of himself, he had out done his own standards and fought this battle without retaining much damage. The little Aron was quite proud of himself. He hadn’t battled much but he knew that a move like harden was not very well respected among pokemon or trainers. Yet in this case it had worked quite well. The steel type was happy that his first battle had gone well. He was glad to finally be getting some attention as well, he had lain dormant for a long time and didn’t know that he could contribute his freedom to the great reform of fizzytopia. His thoughts were interupted by the Abra teleporting him away.

kawaiiconcept:
(In which your adventure splits into three concurrent lines; Newt's will get picked up in the next update)

Kawaii, Frieghya, Cassie
Sensing the mind of a Woobat, Frieghya momentarily gets her hopes up, believing it to be someone she'd love to see again. Alas, it is only her teammate, Newt. Focusing on the bat's mind as her heart sank, she feels it slip away, out of her psychic reach, physical distance too great to keep connected. Refocusing with lessened spirit on finding the Zorua, she turns her mind outward, brushing against many minds in the surrounding park and nearby buildings. Zorua being a Dark-type, Frieghya knows she wouldn't be able to directly find the Pokémon mentally, but even anticipating this fails to find any suspiciously blank areas where a mind can't be sensed. It seems that Parker the Zorua is nowhere nearby.

As Frieghya searches, you explain your thoughts to Annalise. Her face blank, you think for a moment she might try to run after the truck herself, but as Cassie limps to you her thoughts are distracted. She shakes her head as if to clear it. "Here I am worried about Parker, when you've lost one yourself and have another badly poisoned. I'm sorry this all happened. I can't help your Aron - hopefully your Woobat can find him as well as Parker - but," and a strange expression crosses her face, one you can't quite place, "I do know somewhere you can get your Herdier healed."

Grabbing your hand, she pulls you along, back through the park past where you first met. Surprised at the sudden move, it takes Frieghya a moment to follow, but soon enough she is right at your heels. A short while later, the two of you exit the park into the Municipal Plaza, heading straight towards a building on the far side of the plaza. Tall and ornate in an older style of architecture, the building looks beautiful if unremarkable, especially surrounded by buildings of a similar design. Therefore, it takes almost until you reach the steps leading to its entrance, guarded on each side by a roaring marble Pyroar, before you recognize this as the main headquarters for the New Fizz City police.

Dragging you inside, Annalise made a beeline right to the front desk, where a lone officer works in silence. As Annalise approaches the counter, the young woman in uniform looks up, an annoyed expression flashing across her face before settling into a mask of stony professionalism. Glancing at Annalise, you see she too has taken on a stony expression. "Hi, Lexa," Annalise says to the officer, her voice flat.

"Annalise," the officer, Lexa, replies in an equally flat tone. "How may I help you now?" It is clear to you these two know each other and neither seems fond of the other.

"Is Alex where I could see him?" She pauses, debating for a moment whether to continue. "And could we borrow your healing machine? My friend's Herdier is badly poisoned."

The officer sends a look her way. "Dragging someone else into your Swanna hunt, then?" she snidely asks, professionalism failing. Nevertheless, Lexa reaches for her walkie-talkie and activates it. "Detective Wright, you have someone at the entrance here asking for you." After a moment, a soft crackle responds, too quiet and distorted for you to hear with any clarity. "Yes, your sister. And she brought some...friend who has a Pokémon that needs healing." Another response, and the officer turns to you and Annalise. "He's on his way out. Try not to get him in trouble too." The second half she says in an undertone, as if not meaning for you to hear.

Clearly dismissed by this Lexa, an awkward few moments pass before a man strides through the door leading back into the station. Though older - in his mid-thirties, you guess, but already with some greying of the black hair around his temples - he nevertheless bares some resemblance to Annalise. If the earlier slip by officer Lexa hadn't already clued you in, you certainly now realize this is Annalise's brother.

A look of pure resignation covers Detective Wright's face. "Oh Anna, what have you done now?" he asks - rhetorically, as he immediately turns to you. You see something dark cross Annalise's face, but only for a moment before you must refocus on the hand extended to you by the Detective. "I'm really sorry for whatever she has done. If you follow me back to our healing machine, we can try to cure your Pokémon of however he or she was hurt. I'm Detective Nicholas Wright, by the way. Annalise's brother."

The Detective leads the two of you through the door into the police station proper. The sense of awkwardness lingers as Detective Wright attempts to make small talk, while Annalise keeps up a sullen silence. Eventually he shows you into the detective's bullpen. A large room filled with scattered desks, about half occupied by plainclothes detectives, it doesn't contain any whiteboards or chalkboards outlining cases like crime dramas would suggest. No, just a bunch of people working, most trudging through paperwork.

Det. Wright leads you to the back of the room, towards a healing machine near one of the desks. He allows you to insert Cassie's Poke ball, along with any others you would wish to heal, before activating it, an electric hum filling the air. As he does this, Annalise throws herself into one of the two chairs. You didn't notice it at first, but you now see on the desk a small frame of Det. Wright and Annalise, both younger and much happier looking with a grinning Vulpix and Zorua in their arms respectively. Gaze sweeping across the rest of the Detective's desk, you only see a lot of reports and forms meaningless to you, except for one thing. On a single sheet of paper peeking out of a stack, you see part of a familiar Mr. Mime logo, cut off before showing the piano.

Det. Wright offers you his own chair, deciding to remain half-standing, half-leaning against his desk. Arms crossed with annoyance, he looks over at Annalise who doesn't quite glare back, but it's a close thing. Shaking his head, he looks back to you. "Again, I'm sorry for whatever my sister might have done or talked you into, miss...?" he trails off, fishing for your name.

What will you say or ask? Now is the time to get answers to any questions you may have.

Arin
Proud to finally both be taking part in a battle and contributing towards something good, Arin fails to recognize the Abra's intent until it is too late. Gripped tightly in one yellow paw, the world drops out before the Aron can even attempt to break the hold. Around him blurs into a kaleidoscopic mess, gradually reforming into a comprehensive picture. Understandably disoriented, a forceful shove knocks Arin off balance onto a cold metal floor. Iron bars loom up around him, blurry still as his eyes struggle to adjust to the suddenly dim lighting. A metal shink echoes in the space - a cage door sealing Arin away, he finally realizes.

Looking around, he finds himself in one of a great many cells, about half of which are occupied. Most are Pokémon Arin doesn't recognize - a Noibat cowering in tears in a corner of its cage, a Jangmo-o angrily banging against its bars, and a Slowpoke who honestly doesn't seem to have realized its situation, amongst others - but in one cell directly across from him he does see someone familiar. He'd only gotten a brief glimpse at the poster when her trainer held it, but based on the collar around its neck - slightly ripped, as if someone had tried and failed to tear it off - the Zorua pacing mutinously around its own cell had to be Parker.

A sudden jerk nearly knocks Arin off his feet. The room around him starts shaking, as if it started moving. Standing in the center aisle of the cell row, the Abra from earlier grins victoriously and viciously down at Arin, itself having no issues staying upright through levitation. The Psychic-type turns away, facing the other two free occupants of the space. Both exhausted from the previous fight, neither the Buneary nor the Scraggy are standing. Instead the two lean back against the back wall, which Arin can now see looks like a set of double doors to a van, only confirming any suspicions of his current location.

"Okay you two idiots, make sure nothing happens back here," the Abra coldly orders through telepathy. "Don't cause any more trouble or I'll pummel you myself." Turning back to Arin, he snidely adds, "And you, don't even think of trying to escape. Much stronger than you have failed in the past." Eyes sweeping across the area one last time, the Psychic-type floats away from the rear doors in the direction of the van's cab, blinking away with a Teleport as he moves.

"Oh fuck you, you muppet," the Scraggy mutters under his breath as soon as the Abra is gone. Slumping his head back against the metal door, Arin can really see the consequences of his own actions. Bruises dot the Scraggy's upper torso from Arin's headbutts, and mud from a mud-slap crusts along the Scraggy's face. Beside him, the Buneary - physically more or less fine - makes an unintelligible grunt from where he's curled into a fetal position, eyes clenched shut. Taking it as agreement, the Scraggy continues his griping, "And man, fuck trainers and their fucking weak-ass gestures..."

As the Scraggy continues on, Arin at the moment is more or less unwatched. What will he do?

Heather pored over the diorama of the plant intently, taking a distinct interest in the functions of the buildings and their surroundings, mostly in a bid to find out "where would there most likely be wild Pokemon hanging about?" One thing caught her eye in particular, though.

"Oooooh, a research facility? I might be making a few business-related return trips..." Heather muttered to herself. In truth, she was looking into making a start of a career in Electric-Type research. While the research they did here was probably not directly relevant, the types of species such facilities attracted would definitely be a good topic of study. Why, for example, would the area around the Kanto Power Plant-okay no, she was getting off track. She was here to look for Pokemon, and have a good time, but mostly the former, when it came down to it. Even if she was rather likely to end up with an Electrode or something given the diorama, she could certainly hope for something more interesting. Speaking of how to accomplish that, a voice came over the intercom, instructing anyone who wanted to go on the facilities tour to sign up at the front desk. Heather immediately went to the front desk to look for a sign up sheet. The only way this day could yield anything was if she went deeper, after all, and so deeper she would go. Of course, she did want to know a certain something before making the commitment. When she reached the front desk, she got the attention of the person in charge of tour signups.

"Excuse me? I was wondering something about the tour. I'm hoping to get into Electric-Type research, see, so I wanted to know if there would be any opportunities to find wild Electric-Types for capture while on the tour-my first goal is to obtain and study as many Electric-Type species as possible, you see. Or, if not, do you know any place I might go instead around the city?" she asked politely, if a little nervously, given she felt that the answer was probably no.

Heather: Though a part of you is certainly interested in the research avenues here, already absentmindedly comparing the surrounding habitats to other Power Plants across the regions, you do have an ultimate goal here that you'd like to accomplish. Hopefully through these tours, but you'd like to make certain before you commit to anything.

Finally catching the attention of the man running sign-ups, you pose your question as politely as you can. Upbeat, befitting someone in essentially the tourism business, he immediately has an answer for you with a grin. "Oh, of course miss. If researching Electric-types is your goal, you have certainly come to the right place. Depending on which time you sign up for - at this point, of the four remaining - there is plenty of time to wander the compound before or after the tour. Though naturally some areas, like around the pylons and some of the private research buildings, are off-limits to the public; most every other area is publicly accessible to some degree during touring hours. Additionally, any truly wild Pokémon encountered are fully able to be captured, though any battles must remain restrained so as to not damage any buildings or the compound, I hope you understand. Oh, and don't worry about mistaking worker Pokémon from wild; all worker Pokémon wear special lanyards or other such items to easily distinguish them."

Grinning another hundred-watt grin, the man twirled his pencil. "So, would you like to be added to one of the tour groups? There is one that leaves in just a few minutes, and then one every hour after that for the next three hours. The choice is, of-course, yours, miss; but if you don't mind me saying, if you're desiring to go into any field of study regarding Electric-types, I would seriously consider touring at some point, even if not today."

And you thought the shopping avenues were crowded… as it turns out, there’s well over two dozen people lining up by the Fishing Hut for some reason, pushing and shoving and being all around not polite at all in their struggle to get to the shack before everyone else. What’s the reason for all this commotion?

You begin to reassess your priorities given the current scenario – this was supposed to be a nice, relaxing place, at least it was advertised as such. This looks anything but, and perhaps you should go back to what you were doing…

“H-hey lady, wait up!”

The male voice rises above the crowd’s, coming from the Hut up ahead. You turn back around to see the clerk, a middle-aged man with a poorly-kept beard and a silly, unfashionable gray hat lined with fish-hooks as ornaments, waving at you from behind the counter.

“Let ‘er pass yill ya? She’s an old acquaintance o’ mine,” he says, placing you in the rather awkward position of having no idea what he’s talking about but clearly seeing the benefits of pretending that you do. “Come on, get o’er here already, ‘s been ages!”

You try your best to look casual as you pass ahead of the entire queue, which obviously does not spare you countless angry glares and muttered insults along the way. You finally reach the small Fishing Hut and the clerk holds out his hand cheerily.

“How long’s it bee, ay?” he says loudly, before dramatically lowering his voice almost down to an imperceptible whisper. “You’s Melody Star, ain’t ya?! I’m a huge fan o’ yours miss Melody! Even when ya had to leave on account o’t that shocking incident – might shocked myself, I was! But I’m a fan for life, no matter what, lemme tell ya!”

He suddenly vanishes behind the counter and pops back out with a brochure. When he speaks again, his voice is a single notch below full-blown shouting once again.

“So ya see, like I was tellin’ you the other day,” he practically yells while he points at the brochure, “we’s holdin’ a fishin’ competition for the next three days. Free admission ‘n all, which explains the crowd… So here’s what you gotta do.”

He opens the slip of paper and you notice that there are two different kinds of challenge happening simultaneously.

“We supply fresh fish to many o’ them fancy joints in New Fizz; restaurants pay damn well for what we pull outta the sea,” the clerk says with a glimmer of greed in his eyes. “One o’ the competitions happens on the south part o’ the cove; ya take a tiny boat ‘n a tiny net ‘n y’see how much fish ya can drag out in a single back-n-forth trip. One who comes back with the biggest haul wins.”

He points at the other half of the brochure and continues.

“We also take pride in bein’ the best damn fishin’ spot for ‘em young Trainers lookin’ to score a proper beast of a fish. The second competition uses a Fishin’ Rod rather than a net; ya get handed three pieces o’ bait, and try pullin’ out the meanest catch ya can. Heaviest sunavagun wins, so that pretty golden Karp ain’t trumpin’ a proper massive orange one – takes pure luck ta pull a rare one, but skill ta reel a big’un in!”

You notice he has specifically left out the part about prizes, despite these being competitions and all. Clearly he’s eager for you to join, perhaps due to the expectation that a former pop starlet will draw more customers in…
Will you join any of the competitions? If so, which one?

Melody was flattered, as hard as she worked, it never actually felt much like she ever actually heard that much about what she did. And very clearly here was a man that knew who she was, well at least who she used to be. Melody being Melody, she was happy to take any form of recognition. Plus she was getting some perks and Melody loved herself some perks, no matter what the common person might have thought of her.

She gracefully listened to the man's pitch, about the two different competitions that were happening at the same time. One would have had Melody stuck on a boat, blech, and the other would have had Melody fishing for the biggest and best of fishies that she could. Admittedly it was a touch odd that there was not mention of what she could win, but Melody had actually come to the Fishing Cove to try and get herself a new teammate, so it didn't matter to much. Well that and if Melody did somehow manage to actually win and/or get the biggest and best fish, that would be an amazing PR opportunity, now wouldn’t it?

"You know what," said Melody, her voice matching the volume of the man's, "I think I might join the fishing competition. Someone might as well show people how to properly fish."

She paused for a moment, it wasn't often that Melody got to crack out her acting skills nowadays. So Melody was more than happy to play along with this weirdo's ploy. "After all it would be a disservice to the excellent fishing skills that you passed onto me, now wouldn't it?"

TheKnightsFury: Happy at how the battle has gone thus far but determined to finish things before a true catastrophe can occur, you issue your strategy to your team. Luckily for you, the Durant act perfectly for your plan; between their lingering confusion and general indecisiveness about whether to attack or flee, the ants stay stationary, chittering with a slight edge of panic in their tone. Gerrold the Swinub, with an expression of glee, takes the opportunity to exhale a deep breath of Powder Snow at the Durant who'd spent so much time tormenting him. The icy blast knocks the ant backwards, clipping the tracks to flip up in the air and land in a heap near his fallen comrade. Though still conscious, the Durant doesn't even try to stand. Time will tell if it can. Focused as well on this ant, Boudicca starts to ready an Earth Power, but hesitates, remembering the damage it did to the earth the previous time. This close to the tracks, that just might not be the best idea.

At the same time, Odysseus stares intently at Logi, analyzing the small Fire-type. A moment later, it begins rotating its magnets, slow at first but quicker each passing instance. The air around you faintly increases in temperature as Odysseus successfully Mimics the effects if not execution of Logi's Heat Wave. Weak as the first try is, however, none of the Durant are really harmed though it does makes them uncomfortably hot. What does harm them, though, is the blade of rapid Air Cutting down from Atalanta's position. With their metal armor, the attack isn't as effective as you could hope, but it definitely succeeds in one thing: making up the Durants' minds. Together, the two former saboteurs take one last look at their immobile comrades before bolting to their scrap pile, grapping as much iron as they can while fleeing. Chased by another Air Cutter, a blast of Powder Snow, and a crackling line of Earth Power, the two ants race away from your team, diving down a small hole you failed to notice when you first arrived on scene. Unsure if they should pursue or not, your team idles, awaiting orders while keeping an eye on the two abandoned Durant.

"Dammit," Jim mutters at your side. "Those bastards got away with most of the metal." Ignoring the remaining ants - as little threats they are - he runs over to inspect the mauled section of track. You follow, seeing the damage for yourself. Though nothing near what it could have been, as you approach you can see at least four long stretches and a couple smaller ones in the track where the metal is gone, gnawed or cut away in a mix of clean swipes and jagged tears. The pile of slightly rusty metal that used to be these sections is considerably smaller, enough taken that you'd need some new metal to repair all the breaks.

As you inspect this pile, Jim sidles up alongside you, crouching down and shifting the pile around to see what might be reusable. Based on his grimace, there not as much as he'd hoped. After a pause he stands, sighing as he runs a hand through his short, shaggy hair. "Yeah, damn, we're going to have to get whole new track here to fix this." Shaking his head, he sighs again, looking down at the pile before side-eying you. With an oddly knowing expression, he bends down once more, taking a few of the smaller pieces out of the pile and sliding them towards you. "Here, take these. I don't really have anything to give you, but these bits aren't worth recasting and you definitely earned something. This," he says motioning vaguely to the track or what's left of it, "might not be exactly good, but it's so much better than it could've been if we hadn't caught it when we did." At your feet lie two roughly Ball shaped pieces of Iron and enough smaller, amorphous chunks to fetch maybe $400 if you pawned them, yours to take if you choose.

(Declared 4/6: Rowlet, Mudbray, Darumaka, Magnemite)

(I will be ending my adventure here as we discussed, I will most likely be back if we gain another Zone slot in the future.)

It didn't take long for them to finally send the Durants packing, although by the time they did the damage was already done. The track had been torn to shreds in multiple places, it wasn't going to be an easy fix like earlier either. His team had fought well though, he knew he could trust them in a tough situation but they had proven themselves capable of more than he thought. Odysseus, Atalanta and Logi were all hanging together, waiting to see what they were going to do next.

"Hang on, where is Boudicca?" Jayson looked around for the Mudbray, she had slipped from sight when the Durant disappeared. Then he spotted her, she had her head inside his open backpack and was rummaging through it in search of something."Boudicca", shouted Jayson, hoping to stop her before she destroyed anything."Get out of that now!"

With a toss of her head, Boudicca drops the bag. Blue wrappers scatter across the ground, the Mudbray had eaten 16 Rare Candies! She stared at Jayson with innocent eyes, she was simply hungry after all the work she had done. Thankfully he had interrupted her before she devoured his entire candy stash.

(Boudicca reached level 31!)

As Jayson made his way towards the Mudbray, she suddenly began to glow. The earth shook as she began to grow larger, much larger. Her body continued to swell until she stood well above her trainer, when the light eventually died down, Jayson found himself standing in front of a Mudsdale! Boudicca gave the ground a stomp with her powerful mud-clad hooves, nearly knocking Jayson off his feet. Jayson stretched out his hand and gave Boudicca a scratch on the face. Walking around to her side, Jayson pulled himself up onto her back. He felt powerful up here, looking down at everything from the back of his mighty Mudsdale. Soon all the others joined them, Logi scrambled up to sit with Jayson while Atalanta landed atop Boudicca's head and Odysseus buzzed around her. They were all as impressed as Jayson.

Boudicca evolved into Mudsdale!

Directing Boudicca over to Jim, Jayson collected the scrap iron from him before offering his thanks."Thanks for the assistance Jim, I think I will have to leave the fix up to you though. I have other intentions." Jayson bid the track worker farewell, while part of him wanted to assist in repairing the tracks, he knew it was risky to hang around, considering he wasn't meant to be here. With a nudge of his foot he sent Boudicca into a gallop, the ground shook as they rode out of the Railyard.

Newly renamed after the turmoil that gripped the region had settled, New Fizz City shines as a beacon of the region’s new future. Sprawling for miles across the land and stretching up into the sky, New Fizz City is truly the pinnacle of a metropolis. In this city that never sleeps, there’s so much to do and see you’d be hard-pressed to have a boring time.

The Harbor District

Fishing Cove: At the junction between the harbor and beach lies a small out of the way cove. The locals and visitors alike swear that this might just be the holy grail of fishing sites, leading to its name: Fishing Cove. If you want a calm area to just fish and relax, this is the place for you. And don’t forget to record your catches! The fish hut nestled back in the cove is always giving out prizes for the biggest or best catch of the day.

After dipping her toes into a couple of adventures that were all extraordinary events, Mélina felt she was ready to roll into her first adventure of her own, one which she chooses her own place and path. However... she still felt a little bit uncomfortable going out in the wild. After all, she still hasn't quite used to staying in Fizzytopia yet. After some thought and research, the not-that-young trainer decided to go in an environment where both her Pokémon and herself are already used to: the jungle of the urban kind! ...But at the same time, she felt it would be a bit boring and even uncomfortable if she really stayed in the bustling metropolis, especially since she became a trainer to get away from her city-bound job. So, Mélina compromised and still go to the city, but on the less populated - and tourist-filled - area, that is the Harbor District, more precisely the Fishing Cove. According to the city's website, it is quiet, yet it has a lot of potential for a little excitement: lots of fishing, as its name implies. Sure, it isn't going to bring a grand adventure, but better than nothing. On a bonus side, the woman will likely finally get her fishing rod into good use there and catch a few marine Pokémon! Which would be a good thing, as she doesn't have a single water-type in her team, and she would definitely need one if she wants travel into more nautical areas.

With her choice settled, after a few taps on her cellphone, she had tickets for a train to the Fizzby Railyard, which from there would allow her to take a bus to her final destination - the Fishing Cove.

Mélina was glad when she remembered she brought some sandals along with her fishing rod - the cove was more... beach-y and sandy than she thought it would be, and she would've gotten tons of sand inside her running shoes and socks. That said, she sighed in regret for bringing out her two Eevee, Soleil and Lune, who she felt they insisted on accompanying her. She overlooked on the fact that they both have furry hair, which of course the sand will get stuck all over. Thankfully Soleil, the calm and elegant one, did her best not to move too much and brush her precious mane against the tiny granular rocks. Her overly excited sister Lune, on the other hand... is completely rolling into it, enjoying its warmth. Both trainer and sister shook their heads, the former dreading already the next grooming session.

The girl didn't quite know where to start, so she simply went ahead and did as what the others were doing: picked a vacant fishing spot and threw a line (with worm bait, of course) into the water. She hoped that she'll have enough patience to perhaps get a bite, but at least she had Lune to watch in the meantime; the sight of an Eevee chasing then running away from the waves was surprisingly entertaining. Soleil, meanwhile, stared at the line, as if stuck in a trance that would rival a meditating monk...